Such a dry-shaving apparatus is known, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,442. During a revolution of the cutter each cutting element rather abruptly comes into contact with the shear plate and shortly thereafter this contact ends. In general this gives rise to undesired vibrations in the apparatus, which may result in damage to said cutter, to the shear plate and to other parts of the apparatus. Therefore, it is important that the shear plate has zones of such a shape that the most uniform "landing" and "departure" of the cutting elements are assured. Between these two zones the shear plate has a portion provided with hair-entry apertures for the shaving function, which portion should also meet specific requirements with respect to its shape. However, the shear plate is generally constructed as a flexible perforated metal foil which is detachably secured to the holder at a few points. When such a construction is used it is difficult to meet said requirements imposed on the shear plate with respect to its shape.
Moreover, the shear plate can cover a maximum circumferential angle of only 180.degree., because otherwise the holder with the shear plate is no longer detachable from the cutter. This also imposes restraints on the shape of the shear plate.